Northern Ireland: Education

Lord Rogan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 25 March (WA 30), what are the five major pieces of legislation relating to education at secondary and primary level in Northern Ireland passed by Parliament from 1989 until education became a devolved matter; and in what form the minor pieces of relevant legislation may be made available.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: Details of the major legislation are as follows:
	Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 1989
	Education and Libraries (Northern Ierland) Order 1993
	Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1996
	Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997
	Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998
	In regards to minor legislation, all statutory rules made in relation to the Northern Ireland education system since 1991 are available from The Stationery Office.

House of Lords: Steps of the Throne

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked the Leader of the House:
	Whether the Companion to the Standing Orders and Guide to the Proceedings of the House of Lords accurately describes current practice in stating that eldest sons (as distinct from eldest children of either sex) may sit on the steps of the Throne.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: The 2000 edition of the Companion to the Standing Orders correctly states, on page 14, the current position; namely, that the eldest child of a Member of the House may sit on the Steps of the Throne.

Indonesia: Human Rights

The Lord Bishop of Oxford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations they have made to hold Indonesia to account for human rights violations in West Papua; and whether they will support a genuine act of free choice by the Papuan people on the issue of independence.

Baroness Amos: We regularly raise our human rights concerns with the Indonesian Government. We have repeatedly urged them to resolve the conflict in Papua through dialogue, not force, and to bring to justice those responsible for human rights abuses, including the murder of the prominent Papuan independence leader Theys Eluay. We believe that full implementation of the package of special autonomy for Papua offers its people the best chance to exert control over their own affairs with minimum interference.

China: Human Rights

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will publish a list of the past China-United Kingdom human rights dialogues, giving in each case the dates and places of the meetings and a list of the topics discussed.

Baroness Amos: The first dialogue was held in Beijing in September 1997. It was held annually (Beijing again in September 1998, London in September 1999) until 2000, when the biannual meetings started, as follows:
	2000—February Beijing/October London.
	2001—February Beijing/November London.
	2002—May Beijing/tbc London.
	We raise a full range of human rights issues at all our bilateral dialogues. These issues include (but are not limited to): Tibet; freedom of religion; the criminal justice system; the treatment of dissidents; freedom of expression; freedom of association. At each round of the dialogue we hand over a list of individual cases. Recently we have begun to focus in more detail on one or two subjects. Thus in November 2001 we brought in experts to talk on the administration of criminal justice and the role of the media. In May 2002 we looked at the management of ethnic minority affairs.

Algeria: Human Rights

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What human rights concerns the European Union Troika raised during its recent visit to Algeria; and, in particular, whether they asked the Algerian authorities to respond to the request for an invitation to visit Algeria originally made by the United Nations Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions on 15 January 1999.

Baroness Amos: The UK and our EU partners regularly raise with the Algerian Government our concerns about human rights violations in Algeria. The then FCO Minister my honourable friend the Member for Exeter did so during his visit to Algiers in September 2001. We continue to urge Algeria to comply fully with all its obligations under international human rights law, including the investigation of human rights violations, and to allow visits by Special Rapporteurs. The EU Troika did not specifically raise during its recent visit the request to visit Algeria made by the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions. The EU mission did press the Algerian authorities for a response to the list of the "disappeared" which had been sent by the Presidency in April 2001 and which was also raised by the Presidency in December 2001.

Middle East

The Earl of Sandwich: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they consider that the Ehud Barak proposals, if implemented today, would satisfy Security Council resolutions on withdrawal or accurately reflect the "land for peace" principle.

Baroness Amos: There is no single authoritative account of talks at Camp David and Taba in July 2000 and February 2001. However, it seems clear that discussions were in accordance with UNSCR 242, and that withdrawal from much of the West Bank was proposed. Despite substantial progress in developing ideas for a solution, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were not able to reach agreement. Nevertheless Camp David and Taba may well have established a framework for handling these issues in the future.

China: One-Child Policy

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Amos on 29 May (WA 149), how many Chinese state family planning officials have been prosecuted in the past five years for abuses connected with family planning programmes.

Baroness Amos: We have asked the Chinese for these details.

China: One-Child Policy

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Amos on 29 May (WA 149), when they expect the Chinese State Family Planning Commission to have ended the system of birth targets and quotas.

Baroness Amos: In a meeting with my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development on 20 May, the Chinese State Family Planning Commission Minister, Zhang Weiqin, confirmed that birth targets and quotas had been suspended in the 32 counties where the UNFPA model was used. The Government's aim was to expand this to the other 2,800 counties on a step-by-step basis, as and when they could.

Iraq: UK Exports

Lord Corbett of Castle Vale: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether any goods on the Military List recently have been approved for export to Iraq?

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: Following consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Trade and Industry recently approved a licence to export laboratory equipment to UNESCO for use by the Suleymaniyah Technical Institute in Northern Iraq. The export included potassium cyanide and hydrofluoric acid which are subject to the Dual-Use Items (Export Control) Regulations 2000 as amended. Her Majesty's Government are confident that there is no proliferation threat associated with this export.
	The UN Iraq Sanctions Committee approved this export to Iraq under the Oil for Food programme (OFF). Under OFF Iraq is allowed to export unlimited quantities of oil to fund the purchase of humanitarian goods. The export is consistent with the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria.

Gold

Lord Jopling: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What quantity of gold has been bought or sold by them or by the Bank of England over the past five years; what has been the total cost or income from such purchases or sales; and what would be the cost or income from such purchases or sales if they had taken place at current gold prices.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The 395 tonnes of gold sold by the Government, as part of the restructuring of the United Kingdom's foreign currency reserves announced in May 1999, raised proceeds of 3.5 billion US dollars (around £2.4 billion at exchange rates at close on 19 June), which have been invested in interest-bearing foreign currency assets. At the price of gold at close on 19 June the 395 tonnes of gold would be valued at 4.1 billion US dollars (around £2.7 billion at exchange rates at close on 19 June).

Armed Forces: Suicides

Lord Vivian: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many servicemen and women are recorded by the Ministry of Defence as having taken their own lives in the course of each of the years 1994 to 2002 inclusive, indicating in respect of each how many of these were deaths by shooting.

Lord Bach: Between 1 January 1994 and 31 May 2002 there have been 128 suicides among serving members of the Regular Armed Forces.
	The numbers of suicides in the Armed Forces each year since 1994 are:
	
		
			 Year Navy Army RAF Total 
			 1994 6 19 5 30 
			 1995 1 16 3 20 
			 1996 5 17 2 24 
			 1997 2 15 4 21 
			 1998 0 9 2 11 
			 1999 4 5 0 9 
			 2000 4 3 3 10 
			 2001 0 3 0 3 
			 2002 0 0 0 0 
			  
			 Total 22 87 19 128 
		
	
	There were two female confirmed suicides in the period.
	
		The numbers of suicides that were caused by gunshot wound each year are:
		
			 Year Navy Army RAF Total 
			 1994 1 9 2 12 
			 1995 0 8 0 8 
			 1996 0 9 0 9 
			 1997 0 2 1 3 
			 1998 0 0 0 0 
			 1999 0 0 0 0 
			 2000 0 1 0 1 
			 2001 0 0 0 0 
			 2002 0 0 0 0 
			  
			 Total 1 29 3 33 
		
	
	There were no female suicides by gunshot wound.
	General Notes:
	1. There were no reported suicides for 2002 as at 10 May 2002.
	2. Figures for suicides are subject to revision as further coroner's verdicts are reported to DASA.

Food in Schools Programme

Baroness Massey of Darwen: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What progress they have made towards implementing the Food in Schools programme.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Food in Schools programme was launched by Health and Education Ministers in March 2001. A continuous professional development package for primary teachers has been delivered by trained secondary teachers. A self-analysis "toolkit" for schools to be used to identify what they are doing about food throughout the curriculum, school meals, tuck shops and out of school activities is being developed. These complement the National School Fruit Scheme which is now reaching 300,000 children in 2,300 schools. Other aspects of the programme are being developed and will be implemented shortly.

Smallpox Vaccine

Lord Tebbit: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why the smallpox vaccine to be manufactured in Germany by Bavarian Nordic was purchased through an intermediary rather than directly

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: PowderJect, to whom the Government awarded the contract for the supply of smallpox vaccine, has an exclusive agreement with Bavarian Nordic, the manufacturers of this vaccine, to act as its suppliers in the United Kingdom. This collaboration between the companies was made clear from the outset and was confirmed in the written proposals submitted by PowderJect in response to their meeting with the Department of Health officials. Bavarian Nordic was also approached directly and confirmed that the vaccine supply must be through its chosen partners PowderJect.

NHS: Patient-centred Programmes

Baroness Noakes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they agree with the view of the head of the National Health Service Clincial Governance Support Team reported in the Health Service Journal on 30 May that the National Health Service is not patient-centred.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: We recognise that the National Health Service over many years has suffered from a lack of national standards, outdated barriers preventing the NHS getting the best out of its dedicated staff, no independent inspection system, and—too often—by the NHS not putting the needs of patients first. It is not surprising, therefore, that the NHS Clincial Governance Support Team found examples where services were not patient-centered.
	However a set of policies, programmes and structures were introduced in 1997 to improve the quality of care and patient safety.
	This programme was first set out in the White Paper The New NHS: modern and dependable. It was developed further in A First Class Service: Quality in the new NHS which identified three main themes for improving quality in the NHS; clear national quality standards, ensuring local delivery and systems for monitoring delivery. The programme was then expanded and strengethed in the NHS Plan which was published in 2000.
	The NHS Plan takes the quality agenda further, emphasising improving customer service and patient/citizen representation. The NHS Plan is about doing things differently: new ways of working, partnership and inclusivity, placing the patient at the heart of everything that we do. It is, in a very real sense, a chance to prove that a universal public service can deliver what people expect in today's world.
	Delivering the NHS Plan—next steps on investment, next steps on reform (April 2002) sets out how we will ensure that the extra money agreed in the 2002 Budget is spent to best effect in improving the health and well-being of the country.

Anti-discrimination Legislation

Lord Campbell of Croy: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, in future legislation introduced by them, they will keep measures on disability separate from those on other subjects such as age and gender.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: Disability discrimination rights are dealt with separately in existing legislation. The structure of future legislation is ultimately a matter for Parliament to decide.

British Accounting Standards Board

Earl Russell: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Answers given by the Baroness Hollis of Heigham on 27 May (HL Deb, cols. 1039-42), who appoints or elects the members of the British Accounting Standards Board; what are their terms of reference; to whom and how they are accountable; and how the ''membership'' to which they are responsible is defined.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: The Accounting Standards Board Limited is a company limited by guarantee, the sole director of which is the Financial Reporting Council Limited. The operating arm of the Accounting Standards Board Limited is the Accounting Standards Board (ASB). Its role is to develop accounting standards. It is recognised for that purpose under the Companies Act. The ASB is part of the private sector process of self-regulation which has the strong support of government.
	The stated aims of the ASB are to establish and improve standards of financial accounting and reporting, for the benefit of users, preparers and auditors of financial information. The ASB collaborates with accounting standard setters from other countries and with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in order to ensure that its standards are developed with due regard to international developments and it is the policy of the ASB to consult widely on any proposals.
	The ASB is limited to a maximum of 10 members. The chairman of the ASB, Mary Keegan, is a full-time member as is the technical director, Allan Cook CBE. The remaining members of the ASB are part time and are drawn from the business, finance and accounting sectors.
	Appointments to the ASB are made by an appointments committee comprising the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) chairman and deputy chairmen, currently Sir Bryan Nicholson, Sir Iain Vallance and Michael Groom respectively, together with three members of the FRC. The ASB is accountable to the FRC.
	The chairman and deputy chairman of the FRC are appointed jointly by the Bank of England and DTI and funded jointly by them and industry.

UN World Conference on Ageing

Lord McColl of Dulwich: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the speech made by the European Union's Commissioner for Social Affairs to the United Nations Conference on Ageing.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: A copy of the statement made by Anna Diamantopoulou, Commissioner resonsible for the Employment and Social Affairs European Commission, at the Second World Assembly on Ageing in Madrid, has been placed in the Library.

EU Employment and Social Policy Council, Luxembourg, 3 June 2002

Lord Jordan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What was the outcome of the Employment and Social Policy Council held in Luxembourg on 3 June.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: This was a quiet Council with a relatively thin agenda. Bill Stow, the Deputy Permanent Representative to Brussels, represented the UK.
	The Council agreed a general orientation on a proposal to extend the provisions of Regulation 1408/71 to nationals of third countries legally resident in a member state. The European Parliament will now give an opinion. Council also discussed Chapters I and II of a regulation to simplify Regulation 1408/71, which co-ordinates the member states' social security systems in respect of persons moving within the EU. This dossier is subject to a German reserve which the Presidency hopes will be lifted before the Seville European Council, allowing an agreement on a general orientation to be reached.
	The Council also agreed a general orientation on the European Co-operative Statute, which consists of a regulation and a directive on employee involvement. The European Parliament will be re-consulted on this amended Commission proposal, including the change of legal base.
	The Council reached political agreement on a directive amending Directive 83/477/EEC on the protection of workers from the risks of exposure to asbestos.
	The Council adopted two Resolutions at this meeting: the first, on a Community strategy on health and safety at work, is broadly similar to the recent Commission Communication; the second follows up the Commission's recent Action Plan on Skills and Mobility.
	There was a lunchtime discussion on the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines which endorsed the Opinions of the Employment Committee and Social Protection Committee, stressing the importance of a balanced approach to economic, employment and social issues. A number of delegations, including the UK, argued that member states should do more to co-ordinate policies at national level.
	The rest of the (shortened) meeting was taken up with reports on Spanish Presidency activities over the past six months, including: a Presidency report on the Barcelona Spring Council; the presentation of a paper on a Study and Guide that the Presidency had drawn up on methods of tackling violence against women; and a Presidency report on gender mainstreaming in different Council formations and the stuctural funds. The Presidency also provided reports on recent conferences, including the UN World Conference on Ageing.
	The Social Protection Committee presented its report on social protection in Europe.
	Under "Any Other Business", the Commission presented its plans for a directive on agency workers, following the failure of the social partners to reach agreement last year; and a recommendation on the health and safety of self-employed workers. Both of these are likely to appear at the next Employment and Social Policy Council in Luxembourg in October.

Genetically Modified Trees

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether current research into genetically modified trees for pulp production is also examining the risks of such trees reproducing themselves in uncontrolled ways and affecting non-genetically modified stocks.

Lord Whitty: The outcome of research to assess the value of GM trees genetically modified for lower lignin content to aid pulp production has recently been reported.
	Some of the poplar trees used were grown in the UK. Two consents were issued to Zeneca (now Syngenta) in April 1995 and December 1996 respectively to grow genetically modified poplar trees in Zeneca's premises in Berkshire. The research work was licensed and subject to the strict regulations controlling the deliberate release of GMOs. The trees were derived from a female clone and incapable of producing pollen, so there was no risk of interaction with other trees. The trees in the trial were also maintained in a juvenile state and therefore not permitted to flower.
	Both trials were terminated in July 1999 following an attack by vandals. After felling, the stumps of the trees were treated with a proprietary systemic herbicide and removed in March 2000. The plots have been monitored regularly by Zeneca for poplar volunteers and none has been detected.

Refrigerators: Disposal

Lord Smith of Leigh: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When will they be able to make the promised response on the impact on local authorities of the disposal of fridges for which they are now responsible.

Lord Whitty: £6 million has been added to the provisional local government finance settlement for 2002-03 to cover local authorities costs over the period 1 January 2002 to 31 March 2002. We will make a further announcement shortly setting out our proposals for additional funding for waste disposal authorities.